Cooperatives as a Strategy to Strengthen the Collective Economy of Sugar Palm Farmers in Buol, Central Sulawesi

The Institute for Strengthening Civil Society and Natural Resource Conservation (LPMS-KSDA) Buol is a civil society organization established in 2003 in Palu City. It was founded by students concerned with environmental issues, natural resource conservation, disaster management, spatial planning, and community empowerment. In carrying out its activities, LPMS-KSDA Buol focuses on community organizing, capacity building in disaster risk reduction, and advocacy against human rights violations and the seizure of People's Managed Areas due to large-scale oil palm plantation expansion, carried out in collaboration with the Central Sulawesi Walhi Regional Executive.

One of the areas assisted by the Buol Natural Resources Conservation Agency (LPMS KSDA) is the Potugu Village sugar palm farmer group in Momunu District, Buol, Central Sulawesi. This village has long been known as a center for palm sugar production, which is marketed to various regions such as Buol Regency, Toli-Toli Regency, Palu City, and Gorontalo Province through a long-established distribution network. Based on 2024 data, Momunu District has a population of 17.503, consisting of 9.002 men and 8.501 women. Most of the community relies on agriculture for their livelihood, which is the backbone of their family economy.

However, to date, there are still palm sugar farmers who are less prosperous. This is due to the long distribution chain for palm sugar production, and many palm sugar farmers still depend on collectors or intermediaries to sell their produce, thus preventing them from bargaining for fair prices. In response to this situation, the LPMS-KSDA is promoting the institutionalization of the economy in the form of cooperatives as a strategy to strengthen the collective economy of palm sugar farmers and to provide a consolidation space for palm sugar farmer groups to work together to expand the reach of palm sugar marketing distribution and ensure a fairer selling price for palm sugar farmers.

This initiative successfully established a cooperative and strengthened the consolidation of palm sugar farmers in 16 villages in Momunu District, involving 178 farmers. This initiative also increased community understanding and bargaining power regarding direct market access for palm sugar products. The cooperative served as a platform for collecting, storing, and distributing palm sugar production directly to available markets. In terms of strengthening cooperative institutions, this initiative successfully improved cooperative administrators' understanding of institutional management and marketing strategies.